THE TROPICAL ZONE. 185 



shall find before we reach our journey's end, they sometimes 

 grow in a very different manner, one kind even twining 

 round the stems of other trees ; and if we had visited the 

 neighbourhood of Egyptian Thebes when we travelled 

 through the last zone, we might have seen the very un- 

 common sight of a Palm with a branched trunk, called the 

 Doum-palm (Cud/era Thebalcd]. The leaves of the Palms 

 are very varied in shape, sometimes "long and simple, 

 sometimes feathery or fan-shaped " in colour they are of a 

 shining dark green. As for the flowers, they are small, and 

 often of a greenish-white colour ; though in some Palms the 

 stameniferous blossoms are of a dazzling whiteness, and 

 may then be seen shining from a great distance; but in 

 most species they are yellow, closely compressed, and of an 

 almost faded appearance, even when they first burst from 

 the spathe. In all species of Palms the flower-buds break 

 forth from the stem, immediately beneath the crown of 

 leaves ; on the manner in which they are developed, the pe- 

 culiar character of the different Palms in great measure de- 

 pends. In some the sheath is perfectly erect, and the fruit 

 is arranged round and round the spike ; but in the greater 

 number the sheaths (which in some species are smooth, and 

 in others very prickly and rough) incline downwards. 



